Master Fiction Writing

Stuart Wakefield
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With 25+ years in theatre, media, and coaching, I’ve honed the art of storytelling. Now, I’m thrilled to share that expertise with you on “Master Fiction Writing.” Whether you’re crafting memorable characters or building gripping plots, each episode is backed by examples from literary pros. Recognised as a top book coach, my mission is to help your stories shine. Ready to master the craft? Subscribe today!

  1. 2 天前

    Cozy & Feel-Good Fiction: Crafting Low-Stakes Stories That Comfort Readers

    Need a gentler kind of story without sacrificing plot? In this episode, I’m diving into the craft of cozy and feel-good fiction and unpacking how to write low-stakes stories that still have tension, momentum, and emotional payoff. We’ll look at why readers are drawn to comfort fiction, especially when real life feels relentless, and why “low stakes” never means “nothing matters.” I cover the key ingredients that make this kind of story work, including character goals, emotional stakes, tone, pacing, setting, community, and the subtle engines of anticipation that keep readers turning pages. I also talk about what goes wrong when cozy fiction becomes shapeless, sentimental, or overly reliant on “vibes,” and how to create genuine emotional refuge without draining the story of movement or meaning. Whether you already love writing warm, hopeful fiction or you’ve been quietly suspicious of anything described as cozy, this episode will help you see the real craft underneath it. Because writing comfort well is not easy. It’s structure in a soft jumper.

    15 分鐘

  2. 4月8日

    How to Write Wicked Women Who Feel Real

    What makes a female character feel dangerously compelling rather than flat, clichéd, or simply “unlikeable”? In this episode, Stuart explores how to write wicked women with complexity, power, and emotional truth. From villains and antiheroes to politically sharp schemers and socially inconvenient women, this is a deep dive into the craft of creating female characters who refuse to behave nicely on the page or stage. With literary examples including Medea and Lady Macbeth, plus practical tools you can apply to your own work, this episode will help you write women who are morally complicated, dramatically alive, and impossible to ignore.

    19 分鐘

  3. 4月1日

    The Fiction Writing Myths That Need to Get in the Bin

    Writers are surrounded by bad advice masquerading as wisdom. In this episode, we take six of the most persistent fiction-writing myths and throw them politely but firmly in the bin. From talent and inspiration to first drafts, genre snobbery, publishing myths, and the idea that only bleak literary fiction counts as serious, this is a sharp, funny, practical reset for writers who are tired of feeling like they’re doing it wrong.

    14 分鐘

  4. 3月25日

    Tighten Your Narrative Without Losing Your Voice

    Why does tightening a draft so often feel slow, frustrating, and weirdly inconclusive? Usually because writers start at the sentence level instead of the structural one. In this episode, Stuart shares a faster, smarter way to revise by function rather than fussing. You’ll learn the three tightening passes he uses to diagnose saggy scenes (purpose, pressure, and payoff) along with a one-hour tightening sprint you can use on your own manuscript today. He also delivers a six-part kill list of common flab patterns, including throat-clearing openings, duplicated beats, over-explained emotion, and weak transitions. This is a practical, voice-friendly approach to revision that helps you cut what’s dragging without flattening what makes your work yours.

    12 分鐘

  5. 3月18日

    Build Cause-and-Effect Scenes

    If your scenes keep slipping into “and then… and then… and then…”, this episode is for you. In this episode, Stuart breaks down one of the simplest ways to create stronger cause-and-effect on the page: scene turns. You’ll learn what a turn actually is, why it matters, and four reliable types you can use to make any scene work harder. Stuart also walks you through a quick Scene Turn Audit you can use in revision, plus a mini quiz to help you test your understanding as you listen. In this episode: What a scene turn is Why flat scenes often lack meaningful change Four practical scene-turn types you can use straight away A simple two-question audit for revising weak scenes A quick assignment to help you apply the tool to your own draft If you want scenes that generate momentum instead of just filling space, this episode will help you build them! Follow the show for more practical story-development tools, and check out the earlier causality episode for a perfect companion listen.

    13 分鐘

  6. 3月11日

    The POV Contract: What You Owe the Reader in Scene 1

    In this episode, we tackle one of the biggest hidden causes of reader disengagement: unstable point of view. The problem usually is not whether you chose first person, third person, or multiple POVs. It is whether the story keeps changing the rules. When that happens, readers don't experience it as a technical slip. They experience it as a breach of trust. You’ll learn what the POV contract really is, why Scene 1 is where that contract gets made, and how to strengthen the three promises that hold it together: access, attitude, and authority. We also dig into multi-POV switching rules, accidental head-hopping, and a simple micro-rewrite method you can use to test whether a scene is truly staying inside the promised viewpoint. By the end, you’ll have a practical POV checklist you can use straight away, plus a sharp sentence-level diagnostic to catch drift before your reader does. If your POV has ever felt a little slippery on the page, this episode will help you lock the rules in and keep the reader with you.

    16 分鐘

  7. 3月4日

    The Art of Character Want vs Need (Without Clichés)

    If your character’s “need” sounds like a motivational poster, readers won’t feel it in scene. In this episode of Master Fiction Writing, Stuart Wakefield breaks want vs need out of the self-help zone and turns it into a practical decision tool you can use immediately: the Want / Need / Cost triad. You’ll learn why vague “needs” kill scene friction, how to define want and need in operational terms, and how to add teeth with the Cost Ladder (three escalating levels: comfort, relationship/status, identity/future). Plus: a deliberately awful want/need example gets lovingly eviscerated… then rebuilt step-by-step into something specific, dramatic, and copyable. You’ll leave with a fast 5–10 minute assignment to generate your own triad and stress-test it against a scene, so your character choices start landing with consequences on the page. Follow the show for next week’s episode: POV contract—how to pick the right lens for this arc.

    13 分鐘

  8. 2月25日

    The Inciting Incident Isn’t Big. It’s Binding.

    Big events don’t create story. Binding does. In this practical follow-up to “The Art of a Story Premise That Actually Drives Scenes,” Stuart Wakefield reframes the inciting incident as the moment your protagonist becomes unable to WALK AWAY and shows you how to build that pressure on purpose. You’ll learn what “binding” really means, why it’s the secret to Act 1 momentum (and the cure for saggy middles), and how to spot the most common fake-outs: false binds, external-only pressure, “volunteer” protagonists, and plot-by-coincidence. By the end, you’ll have a simple, copy-and-paste tool, The Binding Question Builder, and you’ll leave with one clear binding question you can apply to your story immediately. Want feedback? Follow the show and submit your binding question for a future anonymous breakdown episode—either on Spotify or by emailing stuart@thebookcoach.co

    16 分鐘
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簡介

With 25+ years in theatre, media, and coaching, I’ve honed the art of storytelling. Now, I’m thrilled to share that expertise with you on “Master Fiction Writing.” Whether you’re crafting memorable characters or building gripping plots, each episode is backed by examples from literary pros. Recognised as a top book coach, my mission is to help your stories shine. Ready to master the craft? Subscribe today!

資訊

  • 創作者
    Stuart Wakefield
  • 活躍年代
    2023年 - 2026年
  • 集數
    87
  • 年齡分級
    兒少適宜
  • 版權
    © Stuart Wakefield
  • 節目網站
    Master Fiction Writing

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